Enhancing Direct Cu Recovery through Increased Gas Processing Understanding. This project aims to investigate mechanisms of copper loss during smelting and find new ways to reduce the loss. Smelting, which produces copper matte product and slag tailings, is an important step of the copper-making process from copper sulphides. The loss of copper to slag can be as high as 12 per cent. The project aims to create new knowledge about copper loss by matte droplets floated with gas bubbles generated by ....Enhancing Direct Cu Recovery through Increased Gas Processing Understanding. This project aims to investigate mechanisms of copper loss during smelting and find new ways to reduce the loss. Smelting, which produces copper matte product and slag tailings, is an important step of the copper-making process from copper sulphides. The loss of copper to slag can be as high as 12 per cent. The project aims to create new knowledge about copper loss by matte droplets floated with gas bubbles generated by chemical reactions to the slag phase. The outcomes are intended to enable copper smelters to maximise direct copper recovery, reduce copper production costs and increase the productivity of the smelting process.Read moreRead less
Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies use ....Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies used in the metallurgical industry as most of the world’s metals are produced by these pyrometallurgical processes. This should provide significant benefits such as substantial improvements in productivity and process efficiencies, whilst at the same time delivering energy savings and improved use of valuable metal resources.Read moreRead less
Creating wealth from new resources - High temperature extraction of metals from complex copper ores and recycled materials. Most of the world’s copper is produced using high temperature chemical processing (smelting). Both primary ores and recycled raw materials contain valuable elements and also potentially harmful impurity elements. To unlock and utilise current and new resources, and also minimise the environmental impacts the industry has identified the need for new fundamental scientific da ....Creating wealth from new resources - High temperature extraction of metals from complex copper ores and recycled materials. Most of the world’s copper is produced using high temperature chemical processing (smelting). Both primary ores and recycled raw materials contain valuable elements and also potentially harmful impurity elements. To unlock and utilise current and new resources, and also minimise the environmental impacts the industry has identified the need for new fundamental scientific data that describe the chemical behaviour of impurity elements in these systems. The project aims to then use the data to develop powerful computer-based thermodynamic models that can predict the products of complex industrial processes. These sophisticated tools are intended to then be used to improve the performance of existing industrial operations and assist in the development of new process designs.Read moreRead less
Fundamental experimental and modelling studies of slag/matte/metal/gas systems in support of sustainable copper smelting and converting technologies. Australia is in the midst of a sustained increase in demand for its mineral resources that is leading to expansion in production and major capital investments across the industry sector. Most of the primary production of copper metal in Australia takes place through the use of high temperature smelting technologies. New technologies and significant ....Fundamental experimental and modelling studies of slag/matte/metal/gas systems in support of sustainable copper smelting and converting technologies. Australia is in the midst of a sustained increase in demand for its mineral resources that is leading to expansion in production and major capital investments across the industry sector. Most of the primary production of copper metal in Australia takes place through the use of high temperature smelting technologies. New technologies and significant changes to existing smelting technologies are currently underway; driven by the need to improve both productivity and environmental performance. This research partnership will provide important fundamental information about the complex chemistries of these high temperature processes. This project will assist these process improvements and will provide competitive advantage to Australian industry.Read moreRead less
A new methodology for the measurement of transition metals ions in complex, high temperature oxide systems relevant to non-ferrous metal production. Complex multi-component molten oxide phases, known commonly as slags, are used in the high temperature production and refining of metals. The slag systems of commercial interest contain transition metals species, such as, Fe2+, Fe3+. Each of these species behaves as if it were a separate chemical component. Researchers at the University of Queensla ....A new methodology for the measurement of transition metals ions in complex, high temperature oxide systems relevant to non-ferrous metal production. Complex multi-component molten oxide phases, known commonly as slags, are used in the high temperature production and refining of metals. The slag systems of commercial interest contain transition metals species, such as, Fe2+, Fe3+. Each of these species behaves as if it were a separate chemical component. Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a new methodolgy, which enables the concentrations of these transition metal ions to be measured.
These types of measurements cannot be made with any of the techniques currently in use. The study will provide data on high temperature slags in a number of industrially and scientifically important systems. This approach will be applicable to a wide range of chemical systems in the fields of extractive metallurgy, materials science and geology; systems which could not previously be characterised.Read moreRead less
Carbothermal synthesis of titanium carbide. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of carbothermal reduction of titania and ilmenite for titanium carbide production. The projects findings will be of importance to improving the efficiency of carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to the development of titanium industry in Australia.
Australia is the world largest producer of rutile and ilmenite, which are mainly s ....Carbothermal synthesis of titanium carbide. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of carbothermal reduction of titania and ilmenite for titanium carbide production. The projects findings will be of importance to improving the efficiency of carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to the development of titanium industry in Australia.
Australia is the world largest producer of rutile and ilmenite, which are mainly sold overseas and partly processed to titania pigment. Development of the cost-efficient technology for titanium carbide will stimulate a domestic production of this advanced material, what will add enormously to the value of titanium minerals.Read moreRead less
Utilisation of manganese sludge in production of manganese alloys. Australia possesses one of the world's best deposits of manganese ore, and has the potential to increase production of manganese alloys. This depends strongly on the competitiveness of Australian manganese industry. Deposition of manganese sludge, which is formed in ferroalloy furnaces, in fume dams in Bell Bay is costly, occupies valuable land, and causes an environmental concern. Utilisation of manganese sludge back into ferroa ....Utilisation of manganese sludge in production of manganese alloys. Australia possesses one of the world's best deposits of manganese ore, and has the potential to increase production of manganese alloys. This depends strongly on the competitiveness of Australian manganese industry. Deposition of manganese sludge, which is formed in ferroalloy furnaces, in fume dams in Bell Bay is costly, occupies valuable land, and causes an environmental concern. Utilisation of manganese sludge back into ferroalloy furnace will make operation of Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company more efficient, sustainable and will stimulate further development of manganese industry in Australia. Read moreRead less
A study of wettability and reduction behaviour in carbothermal production of manganese alloys. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of reactions between carbonaceous materials and molten slag relevant to carbothermal reduction of manganese ore. It will be achieved through experimental study of dynamic wettability and interfacial properties of the carbon - slag system for variety of carbonaceous materials and slag compositions. Reduction behaviour of different ma ....A study of wettability and reduction behaviour in carbothermal production of manganese alloys. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a comprehensive understanding of reactions between carbonaceous materials and molten slag relevant to carbothermal reduction of manganese ore. It will be achieved through experimental study of dynamic wettability and interfacial properties of the carbon - slag system for variety of carbonaceous materials and slag compositions. Reduction behaviour of different manganese ores will also be examined in conjunction with the wettability study. The projects findings will be of importance to carbothermal reduction processes, which are major technologies in ferrous metallurgy, and to further development of the manganese alloys industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Improving the Continuous Copper Converting Process Using Ferrous Calcium Silicate Slags. Replacement of refractories due to slag attack is a major cost in the copper making process. Metallurgists need to find a better slag which retains the benefits of current slags but is less aggressive towards refractories. This project will assess the suitability of a newly proposed ferrous calcium silicate slag for continuous copper converting. The outcomes will be to: (1) provide fundamental knowledge of ....Improving the Continuous Copper Converting Process Using Ferrous Calcium Silicate Slags. Replacement of refractories due to slag attack is a major cost in the copper making process. Metallurgists need to find a better slag which retains the benefits of current slags but is less aggressive towards refractories. This project will assess the suitability of a newly proposed ferrous calcium silicate slag for continuous copper converting. The outcomes will be to: (1) provide fundamental knowledge of the properties of the SiO2-CaO-FeO slag system, (2) provide data on the rate and mechanism of refractory attack by this slag and (3) enable the copper smelting industry to assess the potential of this slag to reduce operating costs.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of carbonaceous materials in production of manganese alloys. Optimisation of the carbonaceous materials feedstock in production of manganese alloys will increase energy efficiency and decrease environmental impact in operation of submerged electric arc furnace. Currently, Australia processes domestically only about 25% of produced manganese ore, while 75% is sold as raw material. Increase in production of manganese alloys will add value to the products and create additional empl ....Characterisation of carbonaceous materials in production of manganese alloys. Optimisation of the carbonaceous materials feedstock in production of manganese alloys will increase energy efficiency and decrease environmental impact in operation of submerged electric arc furnace. Currently, Australia processes domestically only about 25% of produced manganese ore, while 75% is sold as raw material. Increase in production of manganese alloys will add value to the products and create additional employment opportunities, what will be beneficial to the Australian economy. The project will also contribute to further understanding of behaviour of coals in pyrometallurgical processes what will be beneficial to coal industry.Read moreRead less